Where the city ends: Social Housing and the Production of Residual Spaces in Rio Grande do Norte
Housing policy; Social housing; Residual spaces; Locational disadvantages; Socio-spatial vulnerabilities; Rio Grande do Norte
This dissertation investigates the public production of social housing in Rio Grande do Norte, focusing on the implementation of social housing complexes in residual urban spaces. It hypothesizes that housing policy aimed at the lowest-income population has prioritized areas marked by locational disadvantages, physical-environmental fragilities, and negative externalities, contributing to the reproduction of socio-spatial vulnerabilities. The research aims to analyze how the location of housing developments relates to the production and persistence of these territorial inequalities. Methodologically, a qualitative-quantitative approach is adopted, structured in four stages: surveying and mapping the housing complexes implemented in the state of Rio Grande do Norte; conducting a case study in the municipalities of Natal and Mossoró, with a socio-territorial diagnosis of the selected developments; analyzing the technical-institutional, land tenure, and environmental factors that influenced the choice of areas; and investigating the impacts of these territorial conditions on the daily lives of residents. This research aims to contribute to the debate on housing policy and the production of urban space, highlighting the effects of the location of social housing on the configuration of socio-spatial inequalities.